Maria
by NtIU
Summary: While on his way out of the hospital in "Nailed" Ryan bumps into a beautiful woman named Maria. Little did he know that that very woman was Marisol Delko, his coworkes cancer sick sister.


**Another one of my beloved(-ish) one-shots. This one might upset a few Marisol/Horatio fans. But remember: I was just as big a Horatio/Marisol fan as you guys. This is just some random writing and it's not meant to upset anyone!**

**Disclaimer: Guess three times.**

Ryan was walking out of the hospital when he accidentally walked into someone. The dark-haired woman gave a frustrated sigh and bent down to pick up a few items that had been shattered in the collision without even glancing at him.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you."

"Right." the woman responded skeptically while standing up, still not looking at him while she put the things back in her bag.

"I'm serious, I didn't see you." At that the woman finally looked up and Ryan saw the most beautiful pair of black eyes stare at him with shock as she saw his swollen eye.

"What the hell happened to you?" she exclaimed loudly. She quickly started blushing when she realized what she'd just said. "I mean…"

"It's ok, I realize that I'm not looking my best at the moment." Ryan said and smiled, earning a dazzling smile back.

"Can you really not see anything?"

"Well, I can see pretty normally with this eye, but not with this one because of the swelling, as you probably can see." he said and pointed stupidly at his eyes. What was he doing? Acting like a kid in front of this Greece goddess. Or, well, she was obviously not Greek, but he found the comparison appropriate for her beauty. She actually had a bit of a tanned skin, kind of like Delko. Maybe she was Cuban?

"Yeah, I can. What **did **happen to you?" she asked curiously.

"I was shot in the line of duty."

"In the line of duty?"

"Yeah. I'm a CSI, I got surprised while investigating a murder and got shot in the eye."

"And you survived?" She raised her eyebrows and he gave her a vague smile.

"I was shot by a nail gun."

"Ah… Well, then I guess you were lucky, CSI…" she gave tilted her head a little bit and he quickly extended his arm against her.

"Wolfe, Ryan Wolfe." She frowned a little bit.

"CSI Wolfe…" she said thoughtfully. "Where have I heard that? Wait a minute, you're Speed's replacement, aren't you?" His smile fell.

"Let me guess; he was the best CSI you've ever known?" he mumbled a little bitterly.

"Actually, I didn't really know him. I just heard from someone who **did **know him that he passed and that someone named Wolfe took his spot." she said with a reassuring smile.

"Oh. Sorry then, it's just that…"

"Don't worry, you don't have to explain yourself." she said quickly.

"So… What about you?"

"What about me?"

"What's your name? And why are you here?"

"Oh, sorry, I'm so rude. I'm Mari…" She got quiet and bit her lower lip nervously, suddenly looking like she was deep in thought. "…a" she finished. "I'm Maria. I'm just here for a regular checkup." She shrugged.

"Well, it was nice to meet you Maria. I should probably let you get going…"

"No, it's okay!" she said a little quickly and started blushing again. "I mean… I'm done. But you should probably not drive home on your own with that eye." she added jokingly. "Or do you have someone to pick you up?"

"Actually, I was planning on taking a cab."

"Well, I could drive you. If you want me to." She started biting her lower lip again and Ryan couldn't help but think about how those would feel against his.

"I don't want to be a burden…"

"You wouldn't be. I told you; I'm leaving anyway." she said happily.

"Okay, if you're going…"

"Great! My car is just outside." She walked out of the hospital with Ryan and stopped by a small, blue car. "Do you want to get something to eat on the way?" Once again she was nervously biting her lower lip, the sight putting Ryan under an enchantment that could've gotten him to say yes to pretty much anything, so he nodded. "Great! I know this great café, you'll love it."

_I'm pretty sure I'll love anything _you _present to me_ he thought as he sat down in the car.

-/-

She was sitting by a table outside the café with Ryan talking about his family.

"So what about your family and your past?" he asked suddenly.

"Let's see here… My family and I came to Miami from Cuba when I was very young, I barely even remember. I have two parents, two older sisters, and one younger brother. And then that's it."

"Really? Wow, now I feel stupid for telling you all about my dysfunctional family. You probably think I'm nuts!" She laughed.

"Not at all! I like that you're so open about everything."

"I don't usually do that. It's just something about you…" he extended his hand and tucked some hair back behind her ear, letting his hand linger a little bit by her cheek. She could feel her skin get hot where he was touching her and almost sighed in disappointment when he withdrew it.

She really liked being with Ryan. It felt nice, having someone that didn't look at her like everyone else did because of her disease, and sometimes her brother. With Ryan she was Maria, a healthy woman, with a regular family that didn't involve a crime fighter that openly disliked him.

"Hey, Maria. Did you hear me?" Ryan said suddenly and drew her out of her thoughts.

"No, sorry. I had my mind elsewhere." she said apologetically.

"Well, it's getting a little late. Maybe we should get going."

"No!" She really didn't want it to end just yet. He smiled at her.

"Look, don't get me wrong, I really want to continue this too, but it's getting late and it's been a long day. Maybe we could meet up some other time? I have time tomorrow."

"I don't know…" Keeping up the Maria façade for one evening was easy, but to keep it going date after date, it could be hard. And if it got serious she'd feel compelled to tell him the truth. But then again, it wasn't every day she met a man that made her feel this way.

"What, you think I'm too old for you?" His statement made her laugh.

"**You** too old for **me**? You're kidding right? If anything, I'm the one that's too old."

"I doubt that. I'm 28." he said with a smile.

"Oh, God you're just a kid." she groaned.

"I'm not! You can't be that much older. You're like what, 29?"

"Higher." she mumbled.

"Thirty?" She stayed quiet. "Thirty-one? Thirty-two? Thirty…"

"Ok, stop! I'll go out with you! Just stop it!" He laughed. "Don't you know it's rude to ask for a woman's age?"

"Sorry, my bad. So it's a date?"

"Yes, it's a date."

She drove him back to his place and gave him a small pack on the cheek as a goodbye. The she proceeded to her own place when the phone rang.

"Marisol Delko speaking, who is it?" she answered automatically without checking for caller ID.

"Hey, sis. It's Eric." her brother responded and she felt a twing of guilt thinking that Ryan was the man he disliked so much. "Where are you?"

"I'm on my way home."

"Why are you so late?"

"I… I was out with an old friend." What was this? Marisol's lying day?

"Ok. Well, I just wanted to make sure you're okay, I'll call you again tomorrow. Goodnight Marisol."

"Night."

_Maria_, she thought to herself. _I want to be called Maria_.

**Now don't get me wrong here! Once again: I loved Horatio and Marisol together! And I hate that the evil writers killed her off like one day after they got married! But I thought about the episode "Nailed" and remembered that it was the first time we actually saw Marisol while she was visiting the hospital Ryan was leaving, and I thought it would be fun to play with the thought about what would've happened if they bumped in to each other.**

**Don't be afraid to review and say what you thought!**


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